PIMS/ PWIAS Present The Wall Exchange: Cedric Villani

Date: 05/02/2017

Speaker(s):

Cedric Villani, Institut Henri Poincaré

Location:

Vancouver, BC

Topic:

The Hidden Beauty of Mathematics

Description:

It has been said that mathematics is the poetry of science. Some of the fundamental values of poetry parallel those of mathematics, and mathematical research is, in many ways, an art. Professor Cédric Villani will discuss the interface between mathematics and art, showing how both these disciplines seek to illuminate hidden beauty in the world.

Cédric Villani is the Director of the Institut Henri Poincaré, France’s prime and oldest international institute for research in mathematical sciences. He has received many mathematical awards, including the Fields Medal in 2010, often considered the most prestigious in mathematics. Prof. Villani is a specialist of mathematical analysis applied to problems of statistical physics, geometry and probability. His books on gas theory and optimal transport theory have become classics.